


Keep Going

by snibnoom



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-09 01:11:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11658480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snibnoom/pseuds/snibnoom
Summary: Come talk to me on myblogor leave a comment below!





	Keep Going

Prompt: “No, keep going, you were totally killing it.”

Dongmin is pretty sure this entire floor is empty. Most of the trainees are back at the dorm now, anyhow, so he figures he’s safe. His first solo dance evaluation is in two days and he has not practiced as much as he needs to. As much as their instructor (and even the other boys) tells him not to be embarrassed about learning to dance, he can’t help it. If he messes up, he has a habit of shrinking in on himself or freezing in place with an incredibly dumb look on his face. He has to change that.

He stops by the only room with a light on and quietly opens the door. Dongmin doesn’t know why he’s being quiet. It isn’t like there is anybody to hear him.

Except there is. A voice is rambling on in the room, and Dongmin stands just inside the room with his hand still holding the door open. It’s Bin inside the room. His back is facing the door and he is going off on some tangent about cheese. Dongmin watches, amused, as Bin shakes his head and scratches out something on his paper, messily rewriting something. Scripts aren’t normally on lined paper, but maybe Bin’s solo evaluation is acting this time.

“It’s been a while now since we’ve known each other,” Dongmin listens to Bin say. These sound like lines meant for a romantic comedy drama. “I know that at first I was cold, but I’ve really grown to like your company. Sometimes it’s hard for me to say what I want to say because I get cold feet, but I have to say it now or I won’t say it. I like you. I actually like you more than I like comics, and that’s saying a lot.”

Bin sighs heavily and Dongmin can’t hide his laugh. The way Bin jumps makes Dongmin think maybe Bin is doing something he shouldn’t. Their eyes meet across the room and Dongmin doesn’t quite understand why Bin turns pink when he sees Dongmin.

“Keep going,” Dongmin encourages. “You were killing it. Though maybe try talking with more confidence? Also, your voice will carry better and sound stronger if you stand up straight.” Dongmin had given many speeches during school as class president so he knows a lot about projecting his voice.

Having looked back at the paper in his hand, Bin shrinks in on himself. He mumbles something that Dongmin can’t quite hear. “What was that?”

“Can you leave?”

Dongmin’s brows pulled together. “Leave? Um, yeah, I guess. I do know a lot about presenting things, though, and that sort of carries over to acting.” Dongmin had been told that he was a natural at acting since he had experience in holding himself up in front of people and reciting memorized words.

“I’m not trying to act,” Bin mumbles. He sighs and folds the paper in his hands. Dongmin gets a glimpse at the paper as he moves it. Numerous lines have been scratched out, some parts have been highlighted. The paper itself seems to have been folded in a hundred different ways.

“Then what were you doing?” Dongmin steps further into the room. Bin visibly tenses, and his hands tighten on the square of paper in his hands.

“Binnie,” Dongmin sing-songs. “You can’t hide anything from me, you know.” Dongmin knows everything about Bin. Since they’re so close in age, they spend a lot of time together. He doesn’t have any secrets from Bin. Actually, he has one, but it’s so insignificant that he doesn’t even consider it a secret.

After all, it’s not like he could date his fellow trainee. What if they broke up? That would make things awkward. What if they debuted in the same group? Their other group members would probably feel awkward around them.

“It’s nothing,” Bin says. Dongmin watches as Bin stuffs the paper into his pocket.

“Okay.” Dongmin nods once. “Pretend you are acting, though. You should practice. You don’t practice your acting enough, and to debut, you have to be well-rounded.”

Dongmin knows that Bin knows he’s right. Bin’s determination deflates like a balloon, and he nods. Dongmin smiles. “Good. Now pretend I’m a trainee manager, and give it to me.”

Bin just looks at him for a moment, then the corner of his mouth quirks upwards. Just that tiny hint of a smile is enough to make Dongmin smile widely. He leans against the wall by the practice room door and focuses on Bin.

It takes a moment for Bin to start, but when he does, he looks genuine. Dongmin almost feels like his words are _real_ because he says them with so much conviction. _Did Bin join Fantagio for acting, or dancing?_ Dongmin has to think.

“We haven’t known each other for very long,” Bin says. “But from the moment you walked through that door—” he gestures to the practice room door “—I knew what love meant. I’ve never been in love before, though, so maybe I have it all wrong. All I know is that when I look at you, I can’t imagine myself with anybody else. I can’t imagine myself with anybody else even when I’m _not_ looking at you.”

Bin pauses, and Dongmin bites his lip. He has to remind himself that this is acting. Bin is practicing a monologue for something, even if he won’t tell Dongmin what it’s for exactly. Maybe Bin got a spot on a drama. He’s already had a minor role in a drama before, so Dongmin wouldn’t be all that surprised.

“I know I was cold at first,” Bin continues. “That was the worst decision I could’ve made, but I was scared. Looks mean a lot in the industry, and if there’s someone who looks better than I do, they might get picked instead of me if they’re better.”

Dongmin’s brows pull together slightly. Is Bin’s character also a trainee? It sure does sound like it. Dongmin guesses the best way to get someone to play the role of a trainee would be to use a real trainee. Yeah, it makes sense.

“I regret being so cold to you, though.” Bin sighs, and looks at the floor. “I spent weeks avoiding you because of the way you looked, which was really rude of me. You probably didn’t realize I was avoiding you, though, because I keep to myself anyway. But I shouldn’t do that anymore. I _won’t_ do that anymore. I’ve really started to enjoy being around you, and it might be stupid, but I can’t help it. I mean, you might leave the company without ever telling me and I’ll get my heart broken. But it would be worth it if I got to love you for even a day.”

 _Is his character the same age as him?_ Dongmin thinks. If that’s the case, then this is pretty deep. A 15 year old talking about misplaced feelings and unrequited love might just be the most effective way to portray young love. Dongmin has never been in love, not that he’s ever been aware of, but Bin’s words somehow make sense to him.

Bin looks up again, staring at Dongmin, and the intensity of his gaze actually makes Dongmin blush. “It’s hard for me to say what I want sometimes. I get nervous pretty easily when it comes to talking about myself because I’ve never had someone to talk to my feelings about. The other guys, they’d just make fun of me. But I know that if I don’t say it now, I’ll probably never say it. I like you.”

When Bin pauses, it’s like he’s expecting Dongmin to say something. Dongmin knows that this is just practicing for a role, though, so he restrains himself. He can usually control himself pretty well, after all, and these words are not meant for him. They’re meant for someone else in the drama Bin might or might not be preparing for, probably a female trainee that’s new to the company. Any other way, these words wouldn’t make sense.

“I’ve liked you since the moment you walked into this company,” Bin says. “I like you more than I like comics, and that’s saying a lot, because I really like comics. I think I might actually _love_ you, but I don’t know what it feels like to be in love because I’ve blocked out people before. I’ve been so focused on being the perfect trainee that I’ve ignored my feelings for a long time, but not anymore.”

Dongmin thinks Bin should be an actor instead of a singer if all of his roles show this much intensity. How can someone look so genuine when playing a part?

“I think I might love you, Dongmin.”

“What?” Dongmin immediately says. “Is the other person in the drama you’re preparing for really named Dongmin?” 

A drama with a gay trainee? Dongmin is definitely going to have to tune in to watch it, because gay idols are highly under represented. After all, if Dongmin debuts in a group, he wants to be open about himself if the company will let him.

“Drama?” Bin says. “I’m not—” He pauses. “I’m not actually practicing for anything. I just went along with it, because I knew you wouldn’t interrupt me if you thought this was fake. But it’s not. I mean it all. I might.. I think I love you.”

“Love… me?” Dongmin blinks. “Everything you said, it was about _me_?” His brain searches. It makes sense. Bin _had_ been rather cold to him when he joined the company a few months ago. But since the very first day?

“I don’t know why you would—”

“Please,” Bin says, cutting him off. “I had to say it, so I said it. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t feel the same way, or even if you do, but I had to say it for myself. I’m going to go now, though.”

Dongmin watches Bin walk to the mirrored wall and pick up a jacket and a bottle of water. He watches him go to the stereo and unplug his phone (resulting in some noisy feedback that lasts only a second). Bin has his head down as he walks to the door.

“I like you, too.”

Bin stops in his tracks. Dongmin is looking at the floor, but he can’t let Bin just walk away from him. Not after admitting to such strong feelings.

“I don’t know when,” Dongmin says. “Maybe that day you showed me your favorite comic? Maybe it was the day you moved your pillow and blanket next to mine in the dorm.” Dongmin swallows. “But I like you, too.”

Neither of them say anything. Finally, Dongmin speaks again. “We shouldn’t tell anybody. It has to stay between us, because if one of the managers finds out.”

Dongmin sees Bin nod in his peripheral vision. “Let’s just go back to the dorm, then,” Bin says. His voice is quiet, and he sounds a little unsure to Dongmin.

“Bet I can beat you there,” Dongmin says. Before Bin answers, Dongmin presses a kiss to Bin’s cheek and then flies out of the room. He doesn’t hear feet following him, but he keeps running anyway. 

Bin _likes_ him, and he likes Bin. It’s a scary feeling to have such delicate feelings being returned as a trainee. What if they debut together? What if they break up? Dongmin slows down once he’s half a block away from the company, only two blocks away from the trainee dorm. Could they make it work? They’re both young, but maybe, just maybe, it could work. Dongmin nods. He’s going to make it work.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on my [blog](http://snibnoom.tumblr.com/) or leave a comment below!


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